Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary – Saving the Aussie Koalas!

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Lone Pine is the world’s first and largest koala sanctuary, serving the community since 1927. Lone Pine strives itself on a place for visitors to get closer to nature. They are located on the banks of the Brisbane River otherwise known as “Fig Tree Pocket”, for many years this was the only way you could enter, nowadays Lone Pine can be reached by car, bus and of course by boat.

Lone Pines top 5 things to do list consist of cuddle a koala, hand feed kangaroos, feed wild lorikeets, bird of prey free flight show and sheep farming experience though there are many other attractions worth seeing if you are fortunate enough to visit here.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Upon entering the sanctuary you are provided with a map that will help you navigate your way around. At first, the map may seem a little daunting and if you travel like we did via the Mirimar II cruises, you only have 2 1/2 hours to see everything. However, everything is much closer together than you may first imagine and some of the animals are ‘literally’ right in front of you.

Upon entering, the path will lead you into a world of nature and adventure to see an array of Australian native animals including bats, birds, platypus, turtles, barking owls, Tasmanian devils, dingoes, golden possum, wombats, barn animals, crocodiles, cassowary, catfish, feeding kangaroos, and of course their main attraction – koalas. They also have a series of scheduled daily talk times and activities listed out for your convenience. There is a cafe inside the general store, so if you wanted to have lunch here you are welcome to.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Walking though the sanctuary was all a highlight, and we were fortunate that we saw everything and did not miss a single thing. The first thing that we did was take advantage of cuddling a koala! First we had to go to general store to purchase a ticket though once we did that we were able to take our own photos as well. The ticket cost $16, which wasn’t that bad considering that Lone Pine is self-funded and that by purchasing the picture helps build the sanctuary even more. The $16 was for one picture but we both were able to cuddle the koala, who we later found out his name was Guppa.

You stand sideways and cup your hands inside one another and then a photographer will take your picture, we did a group photo first then we were able to use our own camera and take individual pictures. This among other things is what they are famous for, being able to have interaction which was certainly a treasured memory for us and probably everyone else visiting the sanctuary!

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

When we bought our ticket for the cuddle a koala experience, we noticed that they were also selling kangaroo food for $2 a bag, the bags are very generous in size so one will be plenty. We then entered into the kangaroo feeding area where it was just us with around 5 (they have more than 5 kangaroos, this is just the area we were at) kangaroos laid and awaiting food in the shade.

Some kangaroos were more eager than others but the experience of feeding kangaroos out of the palm of your hand was again a memory I will treasure.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Lone Pine is the only place where you can be this close with the animals and also be able to experience cuddling a koala, feeding kangaroos, seeing all of the different wildlife is a treat to say the least. This is a must-see place where you can take your time feeding, holding and experiencing Australia’s wildlife!

For more information on Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, please visit their website here: Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.

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Chris Boothmanhttps://abritandasoutherner.com
Chris Boothman is the co-founder of A Brit and A Southerner. Born near Manchester, England, Chris moved to USA in 2006 where he soon after met his wife and travel partner in crime, Heather. They have since embarked on an amazing journey of travel as they challenge others to follow in their paths of working full-time but also being able to travel frequently! If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact Chris at [email protected]

3 COMMENTS

  1. We’re visiting Brisbane in June and Lone Pine is going to be our first stop. Our kids are so excited to feed the kangaroos and cuddle the koalas. Thanks for sharing your experience and giving us an idea of what to expect. Adorable pictures! What an awesome experience for the both of you!

  2. How interesting! I would never have thought about this because I keep hearing that koalas are bad-tempered and kangaroos just large rodents. My little kids, on the other hand, think they are adorable. Having no first hand experience of either animal, its useful to know of a sanctuary where the kids can visit and get their cuteness fill.

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